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The major actors, institutions, processes, and policies of sub-state government in the U.S., emphasizing city general-purpose governments through a comparative examination of historical and contemporary politics. Issues related to federalism, representation, voting, race, poverty, housing, and finances. Political Science majors taking this course to fulfill the WIM requirement should enroll in
POLISCI 121.

Last offered: Winter 2019
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-SI

AMSTUD 122D:Free Speech and Inclusion on Campus (SOC 122D)

How do we balance norms of inclusion and respect with norms of free speech? This seminar course utilizes readings from sociology, political science, and legal/ethical reasoning to elucidate the larger structures and ideals that are at stake in the debates over what kind of speech is tolerable, or more normatively speaking, desirable, at colleges and universities. The expected learning outcomes are: a greater understanding of the free speech's role in American society and democracy, how America's position on free speech compares to other countries, and how speech restriction and liberties can reveal larger patterns in social structure and agency. Finally, key skills students will develop are learning how to identify common ethical frameworks that academic and popular authors use and how to analyze the origins of and changes in social institutions and social structures.

| UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI

AMSTUD 123X:Introduction to American Politics and Policy: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (POLISCI 102, PUBLPOL 101, PUBLPOL 201)

This is a course about American politics, which means this is a course about individuals, identities, and institutions. How do Americans come to think andnreason about politics? What is the role that identities play in affecting the political judgments that individuals make? How do our political institutionsnrespond to the demands of a diverse public that disagrees about issues related to race and justice, income and wealth inequality, climate change, gunncontrol, reproductive rights, the power of the executive, and the role that government ought to play in the lives of the governed? And how do we makensense of this seemingly peculiar contemporary moment in American politics? These are not easy questions, but they are ones for which political sciencenprovides a useful foundation to guide our inquiry. The objective of this course is to introduce students to various concepts and theoretical frameworks thatnhelp us understand the messiness and complexity of American politics. In addition to classroom lectures and discussion sections, students will benrequired to apply concepts and theoretical frameworks to contemporary issues in American politics. Undergraduate Public Policy students are required to enroll in this class for 5 units.

AMSTUD 124A:The American West (ARTHIST 152, ENGLISH 124, HISTORY 151, POLISCI 124A)

The American West is characterized by frontier mythology, vast distances, marked aridity, and unique political and economic characteristics. This course integrates several disciplinary perspectives into a comprehensive examination of Western North America: its history, physical geography, climate, literature, art, film, institutions, politics, demography, economy, and continuing policy challenges. Students examine themes fundamental to understanding the region: time, space, water, peoples, and boom and bust cycles.

AMSTUD 125:Perspectives on American Journalism (COMM 125, COMM 225)

An examination of American journalism, focusing on how news is produced, distributed, and financially supported. Emphasis on current media controversies and puzzles, and on designing innovations in discovering and telling stories. (Graduate students register for
COMM 225.)

AMSTUD 130A:In Sickness and In Health: Medicine and Society in the United States: 1800-Present

Explores the history of medical institutions, ideas and practices in the United States from the early nineteenth century to the present. How are ideas of illness and health historically rooted and socially constructed? How did scientific and medical discoveries lead to the rise of scientific medicine, and how were these innovations adopted within the American cultural landscape? Topics include the transformation of therapeutics and technologies, medicine and the scientific ideal in the U.S., gender and race and medicine, the history of public health, and the professionalization and specialization of American medical practice.

Last offered: Autumn 2017
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-SI

AMSTUD 131:Food and American Culture

This course introduces students to the cultural history, politics, and aesthetics of eating in America, exploring topics that have fueled debates about what Americans should eat over the last hundred years. Discussions of American cuisine will lead directly into larger concepts of American identity, culture, and politics. We will ask questions such as: What role does food play in national identity? Have restaurants shaped American social life? What is modern American cuisine?nnCourse goals include fluency in the key terminology and theoretical frameworks of American Studies and a deep historical understanding of our contemporary food system. Students will actively engage with primary sources, including nutrition manuals, advertisements, cookbooks, restaurant menus, and paintings.

This course examines the theory and practice of deliberative democracy and engages both in a dialogue with critics. Can a democracy which emphasizes people thinking and talking together on the basis of good information be made practical in the modern age? What kinds of distortions arise when people try to discuss politics or policy together? The course draws on ideas of deliberation from Madison and Mill to Rawls and Habermas as well as criticisms from the jury literature, from the psychology of group processes and from the most recent normative and empirical literature on deliberative forums. Deliberative Polling, its applications, defenders and critics, both normative and empirical, will provide a key case for discussion.

All forms of democracy require some kind of communication so people can be aware of issues and make decisions. This course looks at competing visions of what democracy should be and different notions of the role of dialogue in a democracy. Is it just campaigning or does it include deliberation? Small scale discussions or sound bites on television? Or social media? What is the role of technology in changing our democratic practices, to mobilize, to persuade, to solve public problems? This course will include readings from political theory about democratic ideals - from the American founders to J.S. Mill and the Progressives to Joseph Schumpeter and modern writers skeptical of the public will. It will also include contemporary examinations of the media and the internet to see how those practices are changing and how the ideals can or cannot be realized.

Last offered: Spring 2019
| UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER, WAY-SI

AMSTUD 145:Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley. The site and source of vibrant economic growth and technological innovation. A disruptive force in social, economic, and political systems. An interface between technology and academia, with the the quirky influence of the counterculture in the background. A surprisingly agile cultural behemoth that has reshaped human relationships and hierarchies of all sorts. A brotopia built on the preferences and predilections of rich, geeky white guys. A location with perpetually sunny skies and easy access to beaches and mountains. nnThis seminar will unpack the myths surrounding Silicon Valley by exploring the people, places, industries, and ideas that have shaped it from post-WWII to the present. It takes an interdisciplinary approach to the subject and considers region's history and development; the products of Silicon Valley, from computers and circuit boards to search algorithms and social networks; and Silicon Valley's depictions in photography, film, television, and literature.